This video is 8 years old. He even says at one point "Now this was 50 years ago", 50 years ago from now was 73 and he wasn't running that thing anymore in 73, matter of fact he was actually running it when I was born and I'm turning 58 at the end of Aug so the math works out all the way around on that one. Multi engine cars went out in drag racing by the late 60's, I don't know if rule changes caused that or if the advent of nitro made multi engine cars impractical for some technical reason or whatever but by 73 no one was running multi engine cars anymore, it was a bygone era by then.
My son and I met him at a Goodguys event in Indianapolis in 1996. He couldn’t have been any nicer. The 4 engine car was there and if I remember right he said it was the last time he would run it. Very humble and gracious, just an all around great guy!
My late wife's grandmother let many of the singers, actors and hot rodders to hang out at her house in Burbank in those early years, Ricky Nelson, Ron Howard and TV Tommy Ivo were some of the ones who grandma lol let hang out. So many cool stories were told to me by Grandma and father in law. Just off the hook.🥳🥳🥳🥳💗💗💗🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Eddy Hill The Four Father built a wild twin engine dragster with four slicks. It destroyed the starting line and they sent him home.😂 All these guys are my heroes.
Uhhh…, no disrespect, but that’s four gallons to the mile Tommy. I remember when you did your first run in this car. I was a kid but knew enough about cars to appreciate your unusual and outstanding accomplishment. I rebuilt my first engine by myself, a Honda 50, honing it out for a ring job and hand lapping the valves with dual compounds. It was exhausting but I did it and never looked back! Thank you for being the inspiration and legend to us all!
Wow! I'm 62 now and remember going to Lions, Ascot, OCIR, etc, growing up, I saw Tommy Ivo run many many times and always thought he was the coolest, so glad to see he's still here, love ya!
I built the Revell model, and I think I might have beat Tommy to the idea of putting a hot rod coupe body over the cockpit. I wish I had a photo of it. My all time favorite model, and I must have built over a hundred as a kid and teenager.
I always wondered how that worked. Years ago Dad had the record Big Sounds Of The Drags. Tommy Ivo’s 4 engine dragster was on that record. So I never saw it, but I heard it.
i wrote a report about Tommy Ivo when i was in 3rd grade (maybe 4th?) after reading about him in Hot Rod Magazine or something like that. in the early 70s they had (in michigan) the Ludington Reading Rooms added to the school libraries where there was no 'checking out and returning' books or magazines. they were all given literally TONS of paperback materials and they were free to read/take/use as the students wanted. i then looked for more material on him in the card catalog at the local library and found a book that i used for reference. even my teacher was amazed to hear that he ran a 4-engine dragster...
Talked to TV T.O. many times at Bakersfield hotrod reunion..he walks around with the crowd ..good guy.. watch the movie "bikini beach" and that car does a good smokie burnout.. started by Don Rickles
wow man, that is really something. .an NoN EXPectable treat . . didn't even EXPect to ever hear Tommy, 'what to say' of him personally EXPlaining the FOUR ENGINE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE DRAGSTER!🏁🏁gFNM/FL 22.8.'23☮️
Years ago on one of my first trips to Tri cities dragway in Saginaw Michigan, i gave my cold coke to Tommy's only crew guy 😊 he asked me if I could go in the push truck and help him push the dragster back to the start line ??? 😂😂😂😂😂😂 what a blast !!!
I remember these tire smoking beasts of the 60's. That was when they all had a different idea to get down the track first. Now if you take off the decals the cars are all the same.
I remember seeing this car at the first drag race that I ever attended in the late seventies at PIR ( Portland Oregon) I was bummed that it was a rain out and it never made a run down the track.Dale pulled had the war eagle trans-am funny car there also
I built a V-8 Pinto. I feel like it was a Tinkertoy compared to this one. Never got to see him run it, but I built the Revelle model! Wish I still had it.
I meet Tommy IVO at ZMAX Drag strip in NC Cool Guy.hey tommy if u read this it's me Torino Tom at toms torino cobra jet on u tube.good health to my Friend I'll see u in the place that's the best after this life is over and we can drag race Jesus on horse's.Hua Buddy !!
see the chain between the motors sprocket to sprocket?? wonder why it wasn't flange to flange....timed one motor to the next by rotating it??? i dont know....but i would love to see this car............
My guess is the precision alignment required of each motors crankshaft would've been impossible in those days. Just a few thousand's difference in runout would've been catastrophic.
I thought so! 4 MPG for that thing would be FANTASTIC mileage. Lots of big block muscle cars only got 8 MPG, so half of that with 4 times as many engines just didn't compute!
@@deathwrenchcustom No, the coupling chain between the engines, it would have to hold maybe 600-700hp from the motors out put, not the timing chain on the cam!
That's what I always heard ,just a real cool down to earth guy who lived thru the awesome early days and is here to tell us about it. Wish this was like a couple hours long ,just follow him around and let him ramble ✌️✌️
Don't think Tommy had the FIRST TWIN ENGINE dragster... I've a picture of JAZZY NELSON at Colton airport in 1953 with TWIN flatheads in tank bodied slingshot
I don't understand how bolting two engines together would work. I would think that one would run at least a little differently than the other (rpm, power level), and that the differing power outputs/rpm outputs would break something. Were they really synchronized that perfectly?
Yes, they were Buick 401 cubic inch "nail heads". If you're not familiar the "nail head" designation came from the small size of the intake and exhaust valves which I believe were designed that way for getting as much low end torque as possible. To compensate the cam was designed with a lot of lift and duration which gave them a characteristic lumpy idle. There was a larger 425 cubic inch version that was just a slightly larger bore. They were designated by Buick as the "Wildcat 445" and the "Wildcat 465" which was their torque numbers emblazened on the air cleaners. My dad had a 1966 Wildcat with the 401. I can't recall if it was the 401 or 425 cubic inch version that was used as starter motors for the SR-71 Blackbird.
